I had the absolute pleasure of another gathering with friends and family this weekend. The host had this in her home. So true. How many funny stories do we tell about the “horrible” things in our life. Gives us a little perspective.

Also, I feel compelled to say that I make the conscious decision NOT to work tonight. Even with all the work I see around me. I’m exhausted. And all I wanted to do when I got home after taking my car to the shop and having dinner with my folks, was sit on the couch and blog, and most importantly go to bed early. It seems easy, but making all these decisions to take care of myself took a lot of effort. And gosh darn it, I’m happy about it! All that work will be there tomorrow.

So I’m halfway through my 21 day mission to get to know myself better. I wanted to take a moment and recap on what I’ve learned or said I would do during this first semester. Here’s my list and a couple progress updates.

• Try to differentiate excuses from legitimate reasons for not doing something
• Make a list of things I’m afraid of
• Try to pick out my clothes the night before
  • Haven’t done this one yet. But I have been making quick decisions prior to my shower.
• Do things to help me feel more comfortable in my clothes
  • Made my gym appointments through September
• Create 4 hours of “me time” each week
• Walk more
  • Started an intensive physical therapy treatment program
• Learn from multiple perspectives and make the choice that is right for me
• Remain mindful about how my attitude and energy affects others
• Observe how others act around me and find out what it means
• Put-myself together on days when I don’t leave the house
  • I had success on this one so far
• Don’t eat out of the container
  • Success other than one late night popcorn binge when I couldn’t sleep and was really hungry
• Clean up and file the mess in my cube
  • Probably won’t happen until September. Just being honest.
• Learn about Jane Addams
  • Bought the books. Haven’t read them yet. Too many other compelling things to read right now 🙂
• Clean up my home office and make it a suitable place to work
  • Got the ok from Rog to buy a new desk. Now to find the time to clean up and organize
• I need to continue my journey to become who I want and know who I am
  • Just keep swimming…
• I should take the time to plan important trips
  • Planning a trip to see my girlfriend after she has her baby
• Give time to think about decisions around having kids and make decisions
• Be an engaged godmother to my 4 godsons
• Stop working so much at home!
  • Baby steps
• Give myself a “me night” to engage in activities that satisfy me
  • I went to the Reba concert this weekend. So much fun.
• Figure out this sleep thing once and for all. Keep exercising. And get to bed earlier.
  • Made an appointment with my sleep Dr.
• Work on recognizing other’s beliefs
• Continue to strive for simplicity

Many of these will take time and practice. But I’m actually pretty pleased with some of the things I’ve done and progress I’ve made.

Next up, more questions to help me know myself better. I hope to get one more blog in this week. Then its off to the party in the woods with my friends and family! I’m going to read, fish, chat with people I only see a few times a year, RELAX, and maybe even go for a swim.

Thanks for reading and for all your support. It means so very much to me.

~Teresa